I made a "test" wedding cake and tried to stack them after I iced them. It was a mess! How do you successfully stack them without ruining them? Any help on this is appreciated!

After I cut my dowels, I do not push them all the way down in the cake. I place them where I want them, then only push them in halfway. Then I carefully set the top tier on them, guide the tier as the weight of the tier pushes the dowels down. Then just before it gets all the way down, I pull my hands out and leave no streaks in the icing on the bottom tier. Does that make sense? Works for me every time.

Do you have them doweled? Is the problem when you are picking up each tier to put it onto the next one? I usually use a very large spatula to get up under the tier to set it down. Mark your tier with a cake circle so you will know where the next one should be placed so it will be centered. It really just takes lots of practice! I still sometimes stick my finger in the side of the cake no matter how careful I am! That's why you take extra icing with you to the site to fix any mishaps!

great idea! Thanks missyek! I will have to try that.

Momof4luvscakes - I tried to use a spatula and quickly move my hands out of the way, but either I am not quick enough or graceful enough! The icing on both cakes gets messed up.